Introduction to Parcelforce

• A courier and logistics service based in the United Kingdom.

• A trading name of Royal mail group Ltd.

History of Parcelforce

• The Parcel Post service of Royal Mail started in 1883.

• Used services by the railway, but later Red star parcels and British road services were also used.

• in 1986 Royal Mail's business was separated into three divisions and in 1990, Royal Mail Parcels was rebranded as Parcel force.

Global operation

• Its international partner network allows it to extend its delivery reach worldwide.

• The European delivery partner General Logistics Systems (GLS) is also part of Royal mail group Ltd.

• Delivers more than one million parcels a day across 34 countries in Europe.

• A direct competitor of other worldwide delivery brands such as DHL, FedEx and UPS.

• Operates a "hub and spoke" collection and delivery system.

• Two hubs based at Coventry. One for UK and international parcels each.

Customer oriented approach

•Market research based on the understanding of customer choice and competitive relationship in the marketplace

•Emphasises to stay close to the customer and to put the customer at the top of the organizational chart

•Defines the purpose of a business as the creation and retention of satisfied customers.

Parcelforce

• Adopted the unique selling proposition (USP) as the main approach relation to the customer.

• Put yourself in customer’s shoe.• Know your customer behaviour and buying

decisions.• Give customers the reason to buy other than

from competitors.

• Summarises issues from the business environment and the strategic capability of an organization most likely to impact strategy development.

• The only way to estimate the strategic position of an organisation is to do a SWOT analysis.

• An integral part of any business strategy especially the marketing planning.

Major issues addressed

• Known strengths and weaknesses.• What is the balance between the strengths and

threats?• Is the business environment dynamic?• Market attraction• Key performance indicators (KPI) and the trends.• Financial strength• Future expectations, either optimistic or

struggling.

Why SWOT

• The management can decide whether they should pursue with any available options.

• An opportunity for businesses to explore the relationship between its strategic capabilities and the environmental influences.

Parcelforce worldwide

• Their SWOT analysis is more focused on the domestic competition than global

Strengths

• Part of Royal Mail Group• Largest network in UK• Great collaborations worldwide• Equipped with latest Technology• Highly trusted UK brand

Weaknesses

• Driver’s performance as Customer Services Representative

• Lengthy re-deliver procedures • High prices• Union driven (Unionized)

Opportunities

• Less competition globally• Open Market• Availability of Resources• Big network nationwide• UK Based

Threats

• Strikes from the Union• Uncertain Future• Change in external Factors• Tough Competition

Observations

• The biggest threat is a strong employee union which arises a possibility of strikes

• The strength includes the technology and that they are a part of the Royal mail group

• The management can focus on opportunities• They can also deal with the weaknesses

B2B

• Customers purchase to sell further and not for personal use

• Companies highlights the quality of the services, price and other economic aspects

B2C

• Business parcels delivered to the customer's home

• The focus is on the AIDA model that is more directed to the end consumer

Parcelforce

• The automatic processing of incoming calls was eliminated to deal with b2c customers.

• Additional teams were hired to provide e-mail and other staff training

• In B2C, special arrangements for home delivery and return are made

• For b2b deliveries, a tighter schedule has to be followed as shops are busy in office hours

Open market

• Price of goods and services is governed by the forces of demand and supply.

• Cartels or government policies do not have a say in the decision process.

Differentiator

• Every business must make profit.• To do so, it should have something that sets it

apart from the others in the competition.• Not enough to offer fair prices and friendly

service.• To stand out from the rest, It’s important to

show that how you are truly different.

Examples of top differentiators

• Google – blank main page, highest rating matches

• Apple - quality, functionality and marketing campaigns

• 3 - cheap tariffs• Primark - reasonably priced and range of

product under one roof

Parcelforce Competition

Differentiators

• Speed - Europe and US deliveries in 3 working days and 4 for other destinations

• Pick and drop – deliveries can be scheduled online and even for the same day

• Carbon management – option for sending carbon neutral parcels

• Benchmarking – compares itself to other peers worldwide and learns from the best

Benefits

• The company emerged from the 2002 crisis

• The latest figures show a growth of about 8%

Conclusion

• The various practices discussed all have a positive effect on the business as seen is the case of Parcelforce worldwide